Her eyes and face—everything was perfect. That was Mari. The crow’s feet at the corners of her eyes, the faint smell of her perfume, everything. She wore an apron, as she always did when she was baking. It was her favorite gray one that said “Queen of the Kitchen” on the breast. As TJ stood to look into his wife’s eyes and ask disbelievingly, Before he could ask if it was really her, something in her face felt off. He couldn’t say what it was, but there was something “other” about her. Picking up Junior, TJ stepped back and asked, “Who are you?”

  “Is Mommy!” Junior supplied. He pinched TJ’s cheeks and frowned. “Your face scratchy!”

  “Yeah, bud.” TJ acknowledged before looking at the thing that looked like Mari and demanding, again, “But who are you?”

  A System notification answered TJ instead of Mari.

  Welcome to your Systemic Audience. This representation of your late wife, Marisol Harris, serves as a caretaker for your son, Thiago Jorge Harris V. It is a reflection of the System’s will, and keeps the very real body of Thiago Jorge Harris V safe and cared for while he is within the bounds of the System’s care.

  “Can we speak without him hearing?” TJ asked the System.

  If you wish to be parted from him, you can conduct your Systemic Audience without Thiago Jorge Harris V’s presence. Do you wish for him to be removed?

  “No.” TJ growled, holding his son more tightly. Junior squirmed in discomfort as his dad squeezed him.

  “Stop.” He grumbled, and TJ loosened his hold on Junior, if only a little. “You gone so long!”

  “I’m sorry, Junior. I didn’t want to. Was it hard to sleep without me, or did you have your bunny?”

  Junior giggled. “No sleep! No nap!”

  Before TJ could ask how it could be that a two-year-old had gone two weeks without sleeping, the System gave him more information.

  Time passes at one one hundredth of the rate for individuals under the care of the System for those outside of it. It has been 3.370218 hours for Thiago Jorge Harris V since you and he have seen each other.

  TJ’s heart caught in his throat. It… He… There was so much that Junior wasn’t seeing, but TJ hadn’t missed two weeks of his child’s life. Junior said something that TJ didn’t quite hear, and he leaned down to the curious child.

  “I’m sorry, what was that?”

  “You stinky.”

  TJ laughed, feeling the anger and frustration from the weeks of the Tutorial wash away as he did. “Yeah?”

  “Like poop.” Junior writhed away, and TJ allowed him to escape. His kid ran over to his shelf and pulled his favorite book out. Then, seemingly uncaring about how much TJ stunk, he climbed back in his lap. They didn’t need to say anything about it, and TJ just read the book, making the same voices for each dinosaur just like he always did. After he did so, he stood up, keeping Junior in his arms.

  “You hungry, buddy? I think it’s probably getting close to lunch time, isn’t it?”

  “Make baby noodles!”

  TJ looked at System-Mari and asked, “You have shell noodles and grated cheese?”

  “Of course!” His wife’s voice replied, and TJ fought the simultaneous urges to take her in his arms and to punch the System for taking his wife’s face. “I also have the carrots and hummus you love, honey. You do need to eat your vegetables!”

  He couldn’t keep himself from smacking her hand away as she reached out to stroke Junior’s head. The sound of the slap wasn’t quiet, and Junior just looked at his dad, confused. TJ sighed and walked into the familiar hallway. The pantry, his room, the bathroom, everything. This was his home. If he had to choose, maybe it was best that Junior spend this time in a place that was just like his home, but it was a violation. Fighting against himself not to stomp or act like a child, TJ pulled a box of uncooked pasta from the pantry, pulled a pot out, filled it with water, and set it to boil.

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  As the comfort of familiarity settled over them, TJ watched Junior run into the family room and pull out his blocks. He’d always been a tactile kid, and as TJ waited for the water to boil, he watched his thoroughly unconcerned son. This innocent life didn’t know about the bloodshed that was going to be common the world over now, about the scars his dad had picked up over the past weeks, or anything else. Instead, TJ could see that there were the remnants of Play-Doh on the kitchen table, mostly cleaned, and a couple of his favorite toys out.

  Now that he was here… was he going to pull his kid out of this and into the hell of the world post-Integration?

  As a part of your evolution to Copper (I) tier, you have been granted a Systemic Audience. As you have expressed particular interest in your offspring, the audience will take place in the same location that your offspring is currently in. Please, ask questions.

  “Is time between the world and here still moving at a different speed?”

  No.

  “How long is this fighting and so on going to last?” TJ asked after his first, stupid question.

  A struggle for supremacy will continue until one is selected to ascend to the Divine Throne. Until then, life will quickly settle into something resembling the life that you had before. There will be powerful individuals seeking ever more power, and there will be the weak whose only choice will be to struggle along in the shadow, hoping not to catch the attention of the strong.

  TJ sighed, unsurprised with the response. “What’s going to happen with Junior?”

  There are two options available to you and Thiago Jorge Harris V. The first is to pull him out of this space and for him to accompany you in the post-Integration world. He will be Integrated to the System, and be given a simple choice of what Class to select at the age of 10 years. Until then, he will remain dependent on you or any other who takes pity on him. The second is to leave him in this space until he reaches the age of 15 years, and he will then be pulled out of this space and given the opportunity to select a Class.

  “So my only choices are to pull him out into a life of suffering or to leave him here all alone until 1300 years pass in the world outside?”

  If the second option is chosen, the choice can be revisited at any time when you have the opportunity to have a Systemic Audience.

  “Do you think that the next god to sit on the Divine Throne will be selected in the next 1300 years?”

  The System will make no such speculations.

  TJ groaned. The water behind him was boiling and he added the pasta to it before asking his next question. “How dangerous will the world be outside when I return?”

  The System will make no such assurances.

  “How long does it take to get to Silver tier?”

  The System will make no such generalizations.

  TJ asked a dozen more questions that the System refused to answer. Holding back his rage as best as he could he demanded, “Then what kind of information do I get from this audience?”

  You have received a confirmation of the safety of your son, and you have been presented with options for how to bring him into the post-Integration world. Many questions typically asked within the bounds of a Systemic Audience pertain to the next tier of Divinity. For example, you will find great boons in continuing to expand your ability to create equipment and expanding your Divine Authority. You may wish to follow inspiration from what you saw in your Enlightenment that led to your acquisition of the Divine Authority of Storm.

  “Alright. And Junior…” TJ’s voice caught in his throat. This thought enraged his Bloodline, but he tamped down the emotion to ask. “Can I stay with him here?”

  You have caught the attention of the System by your performance in Tutorial 107.48.891. You will not be permitted to leave the Integrated world for long.

  Though he’d suspected he’d get an answer like that, TJ wouldn’t have minded to have the decision taken away from him. To not have to be so strong any more. Now that it wasn’t an option, though, TJ made his decision. He’d make a place where Junior could be safe and he could raise his child. And he’d do that by the time he hit Silver tier.

  After making and serving up the “baby noodles” and carrots with hummus, TJ watched Junior eat his meal with his usual excitement. Then, he spent an hour playing with his son, constantly wiping tears from his eyes as he listened to inane stories, read books, played tag, tickled and laughed. The hour had passed, and TJ knew what to do. He leaned down and picked Junior up.

  “I’m leaving for a while buddy. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. You won’t be alone here, and when I come back, I won’t leave you again, ok?”

  Junior’s lower lip quivered. “You… go to work?”

  TJ shrugged, tears streaming down his face. “Yeah. Going to work. I’ll miss you. I’ll see you soon, though, ok?”

  “Bye-bye.”

  “Bye bye.” TJ repeated, still ignoring System-Mari. Then, he squared his shoulders and spoke.

  “Alright, System. Send me back. If I gotta go in, I’ll be your monster.”

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